Researchers
of the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium have shown though human brain is
still able to perceive sounds during sleep, it is unable to group these sounds
according to their organization in a sequence and thus unable to learn. The
result has appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.

Researchers have found that human
learning capabilities are limited especially during slow wave sleep. Our brains
perceive sounds during sleep. However, the magnetoencephalography (MEG) taken
during sleep suggests that while our brain is still able to perceive sounds
during sleep, it is unable to group these sounds
according to their organization in a sequence.

During 1960s some people believed that
humans can learn during sleep (Hypnopedia), e.g. individuals are conditioned to
their future tasks during sleep. However, due to lack of scientific evidences
it was abandoned. Some recent studies, however, suggested that the acquisition
of elementary associations such as stimulus-reflex response is possible during
sleep, both in humans and in animals. But, it is not clear if sleep allows for
more sophisticated forms of learning.

The results of this study suggest
intrinsic limitations in de novo
learning during slow wave sleep, that might limit the sleeping brain's learning
capabilities to simple, elementary associations.